today’s lighting...our conference in denver this year set the tone for the future of naild and the...
TRANSCRIPT
The Great SSL Debate
TODAY’S
DISTRIBUTOR
NAILD Product Sprint Awards Presented at Annual Conference
Frequent-Buyer Programs
Case Study: BLI Lighting
Professional LightingMember Profile
DOOM OR BOOM
INSIDE
LIGHTINGSUMMER 2015 | VOL. 23, NO. 2
NAILDOfficers & Board Members
PresidentGreg Ehrich, LC
President-ElectBecky Phillips
Secretary/TreasurerRobin Watt
Immediate Past PresidentKevin Eagan
DirectorsJosh Brown
Jim GoodwinKelly Himes (Business Development Chair)
Spencer MilesCory Schneider (Education Chair)Gene Siepka (Membership Chair)
Joan Scott Trew
Past Presidents’ Council RepresentativeBill Cooley
NAILD AdministratorLinda Daniel
Conference & Marketing RepresentativesCMA Association Management
Lynn McCullough - [email protected] Hitchner - [email protected]
Denise Vargas - [email protected] Junction, NJ
NAILD Education ConsultantPaul Hafner, LC
Advertising For advertising information, contact
Jude Martin-Cianfano at (609) 297-2212
Today’s Lighting Distributor is the official publication of the National Association of Independent Lighting Distributors
3685 Harlem Road, Suite 102, Buffalo, NY 14215(716) 875-3670 Voice; (716) 875-0734 Fax
Web Address: www.naild.org
Design & Layout Provided byCreative Marketing Alliance
GoToCMA.com(609) 297-2235
s your new NAILD president, I am looking
forward to a year of change and improvement.
NAILD has been a successful organization
for more than 35 years, and it will continue
to move forward.
Our conference in Denver this year set the tone for the future of NAILD and the
lighting industry as a whole. We had several respected lighting leaders discuss
topics that are critical to our survival as an organization and our lighting
distributorship businesses. From those sessions, we were able to have in-depth
discussions with each other that will provide tremendous value to our future.
That is the point of a conference, and will be our focus going forward.
NAILD is here to help our members understand lighting better than anyone and
give our businesses the ability to thrive. In addition to having a must-attend
conference next year, we will continue to expand our education programs,
improve our publications and grow our membership. We are meeting as a board
in July to have a strategic planning session that will focus on the future of NAILD
and specify how we grow. I can assure you that we will come away from that
meeting with a detailed strategic plan that we will implement immediately.
For many years, NAILD has been run by a volunteer board of directors, but
recently we have hired a professional association management company (CMA
Association Management) to take over the daily activities necessary to implement
a strategic plan. This will allow us as a board to focus on strategy and have a
dedicated professional team that will be working on improving NAILD every day.
I am excited about this and know the organization will improve significantly.
Lighting has changed dramatically over the last few years and will continue to
be different going forward. Collectively, NAILD members have the knowledge
and experience to be the leading lighting-based association in the future.
We have seen all of the major changes in lighting and have been able to adapt.
Together, we will succeed and NAILD will be the best it’s ever been.
Best,
Greg Ehrich NAILD President 2015-2016
OUR FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT
A
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE SUMMER 2015TODAY’S LIGHTING DISTRIBUTOR
SUMMER 2015 | VOL. 23, NO. 2
www.naild.org 3
SUMMER 2015 VOLUME 23, NO. 2
6121415
Solid-State Lighting:Will Distributors Survive?Dueling industry experts weigh in on how technology will change the market.
By Chris Brown and Bill Attardi
Member Profile:Professional LightingBecky and Sid Philips run a specialty lighting distributor-ship in Greensboro, N.C., with an emphasis on hospitality and retail.
By Meghan Higgins
Case Study:Transforming a ShowroomBLI Lighting helped Becker Fur-niture World reduce its carbon footprint and save more than $14,000 a month.
By Victoria Hurley-Schubert
Frequent-Buyer Programs:Make Them Work for YouImplementing a successful program takes a simple concept, good planning, flawless service and persistent promotion.
By Jeffrey Barnhart
President’s Message
Educational Training Opportunities
Member News
New Products
Industry Updates
NAILD News
4 Today’s Lighting Distributor | SUMMER 2015
3
16
17
18
20
22
Today’s Lighting Distributor magazine is published four times a year for NAILD members in conjunction with Creative Marketing Alliance.
PublisherJeffrey [email protected]
Executive EditorErin [email protected]
Advertising ManagerJude [email protected]
Managing EditorKenneth [email protected]
Contributing EditorChristian [email protected]
Staff WritersMeghan [email protected]
Greta [email protected]
Victoria [email protected]
Creative DirectorDave [email protected]
Production ManagerScott [email protected]
Advertising Index
ARVA, LLC. ...............................................................................................................................23
DuraGuard Products, Inc. .........................................................................................................11
EiKO, Ltd. ....................................................................................................................Back Cover
Halco Lighting Technologies ......................................................................................................5
Keystone Technologies, LLC ....................................................................................................21
Universal Lighting, Technologies, Inc. ......................................................................................19
USHIO America, Inc. ........................................................................................ Inside Front Cover
DOOM6 Today’s Lighting Distributor | SUMMER 2015
Solid-state lighting has changed the industry forever. So what does it mean for distributors?
Today’s Lighting Distributor asked industry insiders Chris Brown and Bill Attardi to discuss the possible outcome with “dueling” columns.
Can they both be correct?
DOOM www.naild.org 7
The state of the traditional lighting industry is so profoundly challenged by the solid-state lighting revolution that I have coined “Illumigeddon,” or the end of the lighting industry as we have known it. Solid-state lighting (SSL) is changing everything in our lighting world.
In the spirit of full disclosure, however, I need to warn you before I start. I have no idea about a lot of what I’m going to discuss. Really! I have no idea what it means for the traditional lighting industry when I talk about how Google, Apple, Cisco, Intel, Oracle and Qualcomm and whatever other technology gorillas are lurking at the borders of our formerly stodgy, predictable and somewhat bor-ing lighting industry. (Who would have thought even one year ago that Cisco would have been the keynote speaker at a lighting conference like they were at Strategies In Light in February?) What I do know is that attention must be paid!
But please consider these nine items, and prepare, before it’s too late:
• Amazon Supply is now in the electrical supply and lighting business! CEO Jeff Bezos can do whatever he wants to do with web and logistical resources light years beyond the reach of traditional distribution and he has no mandate from investors to make money doing it. And watch out for China-based Alibaba and Jet.com in the near future. (Some lighting distributors are already out of business; they just don’t know it yet.)
• When I talk about light as a service (LAAS), I wonder who will be supplying the lighting products and the service
itself. So far, I’ve seen Cree, Philips and Zumtobel talking about LAAS. Is there room for distribution in this new busi-ness model? Can distribution add value in this model?
• What will be distribution’s role in the Internet of Things (IoT) and the Internet of Everything (IoE)? Will there be room? In 2005, we were in the light bulb busi-ness and now we’re in the semiconductor business. And we had better prepare for the Smart Lighting business tomorrow, if we want to remain in business.
• Will we fit in at all with potential SSL/Smart Lighting business models, or will lighting distribution, as we have known it, become a dinosaur? After selling Wiedenbach-Brown in 2006, I decided to stay with the firm because of how in-teresting/challenging and complicated/threatening the lighting business has be-come. I want to be part of the solutions that will need to be created to ensure that distribution stays relevant in the new SSL business model. I’m concerned that some of the traditional lighting industry brand names someday may be mentioned in the same conversations as Kodak film, Polaroid, Blockbuster, Pan Am, RCA, Circuit City, Borders Books, American Motors, the neighborhood hardware store, the neighborhood drug store and other former well-known brands because again, solid-state light-ing changes everything. Everything!
• SSL is a classic disruptive and destruc-tive technology. The MRO aspect of distribution, the daily replenishment of light bulbs, is going away, slowly but surely. Yes, there are hundreds of millions of sockets to be converted, and
we are years away from socket satura-tion. But if every socket we convert to SSL is not in play for five to 10 years or longer, how does distribution stay relevant to our clients over that time? And I know that some people argue that newer SSL products will be more ef-ficient, and I know and agree that Smart Lighting will offer amazing possibilities, opportunities and benefits. But I also know how hard the initial LED sale was to most of WB’s clients. I also remember that a 50,000-hour performance warranty was critical in convincing the CFO to triple or quadruple (or more!) the procurement budget for lighting. And I believe that the substantial remaining warranty on LED products in use is going to be an issue and probably a deal-breaker for many LED-to-LED retrofits. And a diminishing ROI on LED to LED (or next generation SSL) presents another obstacle. No matter how long it takes and whatever happens, sooner or later it’s goodbye MRO business!
• Disintermediation is a word that should be in every distributor’s vocabulary. It means manufacturers selling direct, and it is the business model for some new manufacturers, and some traditional manufacturers also! This is a no-win proposition for reps, distributors and manufacturers playing by the old rules of the game.
• Today, we have more new manufac-turers, new distributors and reps, lower chip and finished-product prices, often reckless pricing competition, lower margins and a steadily diminishing number of available sockets to fight over. In 2005, most lighting distribution
COVER STORY SUMMER 2015By Chris Brown
INTRODUCING ‘ILLUMIGEDDON’Nine Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Sleep Tonight
BOOM8 Today’s Lighting Distributor | SUMMER 2015
dealt with about eight major lighting and control players. Nowadays, we need to deal with dozens of traditional and new players if we are to be able to offer our clients a full range of lamp, fixture and control options. And the number will only increase as new players enter almost daily (Hello, Flextronics!). The competition for the socket is becoming a battlefield. In addition, we have to learn a whole new language of lighting: Zigbee, Zhaga, Dali, Demand Response (DR), Automated Demand Response (ADR), Li-Fi, disintermediation, Light as a Service (LaaS), future proofed lighting, performance warranties, IoT and IoE, value metrics, human-centric lighting, load shedding, daylight harvesting, Title 24, Emerge Alliance and so on.
• Several major international giants are divesting their lighting businesses. What do they know that we don’t know? Could it possibly be that they can’t innovate and transform their traditional lighting businesses fast enough to com-pete in the age of Smart Lighting? Are they backing away from the significant investments necessary to stay competi-tive in SSL with only a very modest ROI potential? Could it possibly be that they see lower component pricing, lower margins and fiercer competition and they don’t want to play in that sandbox? And what about controls and controls companies? What happens when con-trols are integrated into Smart Lighting lamps and luminaires? And what happens if SSL lighting becomes so efficient there is no ROI on a traditional controls instal-lation? Check out Bob Karlicek at the Smart Lighting Engineering Research Center for that conversation (smartlight-ing.rpi.edu).
• Dirk Beveridge is the author of “Inno-vate….How Successful Distributors Lead Change in Disruptive Times.’’ He runs an amazing two-day, innovation conference called “Unleashed…Unleash Wholesale Distribution.” The conference, which is
co-sponsored by the National Associa-tion of Electrical Distributors (NAED), has drawn more than 100 attendees in the last two years. However, there were only three electrical distributors at each of those conferences. I know we are all victims of the “tyranny of the urgent,” but I’m afraid the sparse electrical distribution attendance at Unleash WD may be one of those soft signals that electrical distribution with a significant lighting business just doesn’t get it yet. And that lighting distribution may not get that we’re in a fight for our business lives, a fight to survive and thrive. We all should be trying to figure out how we stay relevant, not just to our client base, but also how we become relevant and necessary for the new technology players with their own business models, which may not include wholesale distri-bution. If lighting distribution can’t find a way to add value, we don’t belong in the future lighting-industry, business-model equation.
Dramatic shifts in the industry have prompted my good friend, Bill Attardi, and I to start a larger discussion on his online site, EnergyWatch, which can be found at http://energywatchnews.com/ blog/. It should come as no surprise that he calls me “Chicken Little Brown” due to my concerns about the future for our traditional businesses. To be clear, however, I am not saying that the sky is falling on you yet…as long as you are listening, planning and innovating right now.
Game changing issues, conflicts and challenges are happening so much faster than the most optimistic fore-casts of a couple of years ago. Captain Sunshine—a.k.a. Bill Attardi—and I agree that there is great opportunity in this new age of lighting. But for whom? That is the key question, and that is where we differ. Are traditional lighting players willing to invest in their future by trashing old business models, and
making innovation in their business an everyday exercise? Are lighting distributors willing and able to learn new technologies, focus on service in a service economy, bring new solutions to their client base and provide one neck to choke?
Can they afford and are they willing to invest financially and enthusiastically in innovation? And are they eager, willing and able to stay in business?
Well, here is my final answer: Time will tell.
Chris Brown, who is CEO at Wiedenbach-Brown, Co., has
worked more than 30 years in the lighting industry. He can be
reached at [email protected].
BOOM www.naild.org 9
By Bill Attardi
The lighting industry is experiencing a rebirth that will produce unlimited opportunity for distributors who have prepared for the new solid-state lighting (SSL) era.
This is my 50th year in the lighting industry, and I grew up with many of you at NAILD. Never have I seen such chal-lenges and opportunities that lie ahead. But we have to get it right. Is there anything more tra-ditional than baseball and lighting? Or, more American as apple pie, as they say.
If a super-traditional sport like Major League Baseball is using technology to get it right, then that’s the future for the super-traditional lighting industry too. GETTING IT RIGHT! Let there be light is over...getting it right is not just about delivering light on a surface any more. Getting it right is about the right lumens in the right application sure, but it’s about linking energy ef-ficiency with cost savings, it’s about control, sensors, security, daylight harvesting, green solutions, the environment…and now, integrated networking platforms and business processes that will use lighting to improve the lives of all of us. Lighting is getting SMART.
Let me focus on the opportunities. (Chris Brown can have the threats.) It’s very clear that the lighting industry is looking at dramatic change, moving from the traditional lighting industry to the SSL Smart Lighting Industry. It will affect all the electrical channels of distribution, especially lighting distributors, in a very positive way. It’s like riding a 50-foot wave. First, you have to know where the big waves are and then develop the advanced skills to ride waves that big. Well, I guess the
first step is, you have to want to go in the water. You just are not going to
catch any waves sitting on the beach. The same can be said for
opportunities.
A coach from Indiana— remember Bobby Knight—once said, “The key is not the will to win...everybody has that. Few have the will to prepare to win.” Well, it’s time to prepare to win in the lighting industry.
The one overriding, most infectious opportunity we
have ever seen in the lighting industry is that every single
light source now burning will be replaced by a better mouse trap. If
that has happened at any time in our history, please let me know as I have only
been at it for five decades. If you are in the lighting business, you most likely sold what’s out there.
Now it’s time for you to prepare to replace them all. That spells OPPORTUNITY.
In any changing industry, the big question is: How can I reposi-tion my company to take advantage of this change? The pain comes when you must change just to survive and still don’t.
With the lighting industry in transition, we all know the focus is on SSL technologies. With any transition, it will take some time to get things right, but LED is the most technologically advanced product for lighting that we have ever seen. When you talk about electronics, there is no room for anything else. As I believe, in time, it will replace every light source com-mercially available. Efficiency is the main reason, since the potential of 300+ lumens per watt can replace a 100-watt in-candescent with a 6-watt LED. (Costs always come down in electronics, so price really is incidental to the whole process.)
INDUSTRY ‘REBIRTH’ FUELS LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITY
COVER STORY SUMMER 2015
10 Today’s Lighting Distributor | SUMMER 2015
When the stars are aligned and you say electronics/energy efficiency/Smart Lighting/any color/white light/atmospherics/etc…there is no fighting it. And what is even more exciting, other diverse electronics companies want to use lighting for their advanced technologies: Wi-Fi, Li-Fi, face-to-face camera recognition/sensors/controls/security networks/apps, etc. Lighting is everywhere and that’s where you want to be. It’s all good and there are waves of opportunity. And one thing about waves: they never stop coming in.
We are still talking about change, ok? Change is always threatening to the incumbents. We see it happening around us more dynamically than ever before. That’s a good thing, even for the incumbents…if you are able to adapt, reposition and develop the strengths necessary to compete, that is. Even in a changing environment, some things never change. I teach a graduate class at Monmouth University in New Jersey and we talk about how products and services go to market. There’s the manufacturer, who in most cases goes to market through a supply chain, then there is the ultimate consumer. Simple: manufacturer to supply chain to consumer. Not changing folks.
We all agree that lighting is transitioning from the traditional to the electronic. So is the phone. I have friends that still use the phone as a phone. The most progress they have made is to a flip phone that has a voice message. “This phone is for emergency use only. I do not answer this phone. If you want to talk to me, please call me at (land line).” Say what? Now that’s adapting to change, right? The transition to a Smartphone is lost to them. They do not know what they do not know. The Smartphone is now a complete communication/entertainment device: apps, emails, text messages, videos, camera, informa-tion search, news, IoT, controls, Bluetooth, and it’s still evolving. (By the way, you can still use it as a phone.)
Are you still selling lighting as lighting: “What do you want, and I’ll get it for you.” Sure, leave it up to the customer. They will tell you what they want and you just fill the order. Easy, that’s the distribution business, right? Well, it’s not going to work anymore, my friends. In the electronic information age, they don’t know what they want. You have to know, and you have to tell them.
Lighting is now Smart Lighting. In addition to the stalwarts of quality of light, energy efficiency and long-life, lighting products are being introduced that will not only allow for consumers
to manipulate the timing, intensity and quality of light but will internally track and react and adapt to the users’ living and working patterns. Smart Lighting now has its own apps, IoT/IoE/PoE applications, embedded devices,
sophisticated control capabilities, interactive com-munications, mobile wireless communications,
energy monitoring, automatic dimming, network technologies, plug-and-play interaction, facial recognition, integrated security, connected lamps, programmed to research the space, the ability to transmit sensitive information, mobile applications, wireless protocol implementations, web services and backend
infrastructure. Did I leave anything out? I’m sure I did. Stay tuned.
Some are saying, the pessimists by the way, that LEDs just last too long. Sure, we may get a nice bump in sales and profits in the short term, but if they don’t change a bulb in 10 years, where’s the replacement market headed. Have no fear, the lighting industry will also INNOVATE. We will have our own version of 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0. We will encourage our customers to throw out a perfectly good fixture that gives you 100 lm/W for one that gives you 200 lm/W, then 300 lm/W, then other bells and whistles we cannot even imagine today. We will get it right and the story will get better. So have no fear, I predict that the opportunities will be
www.naild.org 11
greater than ever. But who really knows? Legendary baseball figure Yogi Berra said it best: “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.”
However, I do agree with Chris on this point: “The Internet of Things and the integration of Smart Lighting products into building systems have enormous potential…..but for whom? Traditional electrical distributors and lighting distributors will need new levels of high-technical competences and new services/solutions to elbow their way to the table.” The threat of “disintermediation,” as Chris calls it, can only happen if you let it. We have talked about this for years—manufacturers are
going direct—what a nightmare! The answer is always the same: Get it right, add to the process and they will never do it better than you.
Fifty years from now, let’s talk again as we will know by then how all of this turns out. And don’t be surprised if we are not transitioning into another new dynamic era of lighting. I’d love to be around when they replace LEDs.
Bill Attardi is publisher of EnergyWatch (http://energywatchnews.com/), an online publication
that keeps readers ahead of the curve in the electrical-lighting industry. He can be reached at
COVER STORY SUMMER 2015
Opening its doors 30 years ago in Greensboro, N.C., Professional Lighting saw an opportunity to become a specialty lighting distributor and offer its customers a holistic approach.
“We look at our customers’ overall business and come up with the best lighting solutions for them,” explained Becky Phillips, president of Professional Lighting. “Our ability to provide a total performance package to our custom-ers—maintenance and replacements, remodels and energy retrofits and new construction and design—is the corner-stone of our business.”
At the time, Becky and her husband, Sid Phillips, vice president of sales at the company, were living in southern Cincinnati and he was a sales rep for a manufacturer’s rep agency. “My back-ground was in retail management and Sid’s was sales, so we decided starting a specialty lighting distributorship was an avenue we wanted to explore, but we couldn’t open shop in Cincinnati because of the competition,” Becky said. “We started looking throughout the southeast and ended up in Greensboro.”
Professional Lighting predominately serves the commercial property man-agement market with an emphasis on hospitality (i.e. hotels, motels and restaurants) and retail. “We dabble in a little bit of everything,” she said. “Because of Sid’s expertise, we are also involved in high-end residential work, basically lighting design and controls.”
The company brings in most of its sales from outside sales representatives because they don’t have a counter. “We have a different model than most,” Becky explained. “We have always been more of a relationship sell than anything else.”
ADAPTING TO CHANGE
Professional Lighting is always ready to move quickly when it comes to changes within the industry and with its cus-tomers. “The whole LED movement right now is happening more quickly than anyone else thought it would. We are moving steadily in that direction by partnering with the local utilities as far as processing rebates,” Becky said. “North Carolina did not have any rebates that were available up until five years ago, so it is relatively new to our market area. The whole advent of LEDs and controls is very important to us.”
With the LED wave, the company continues to focus on maintaining its visibility as the expert in the lighting industry. According to Becky, they are finding a lot of misconceptions with the LED, including how to maintain the product, its design elements and how it affects the productivity of the workers. “There are a lot of different things that come into play when you change a light source,” she said. “This is the biggest change in the industry in the last 50 years, so we need to make sure we have a good grasp of this technology to help our customers understand what it
means to them and how it will affect all aspects of their business.”
There is a lot of opportunity that comes with this big of a change, she added. “It all depends on how this change is incorporated into our customers’ existing lighting plan and how we are able to help them move forward.”
COMMITTED TO EDUCATION
One of the things that makes Profes-sional Lighting unique, according to Becky, is its commitment to education for its employees and customers. “Through education and training, we are able to bring the latest technologies to the forefront,” she explained. “Like most entrepreneurs, we are willing to take risks with different products and taking the business down new paths has always made us unique too.”
For example, Sid was one of the first lighting professionals to be certified in the Carolinas by the National Council on Qualifications for the Lighting Professions (NCQLP), one of the highest certifications in the industry. Since NCQLP’s Lighting Certification (LC) is extremely difficult, the industry felt there needed to be a program in between to get lighting pro-fessionals to make the leap to the LC, which led to the formation of NAILD’s Lighting Specialist training programs.
“We have been a member of NAILD for 28 years,” she said. “We have tried to share that participating in NAILD is important to us as a business to develop
12 Today’s Lighting Distributor | SUMMER 2015
By Meghan Higgins
MEMBER PROFILE SUMMER 2015
www.naild.org 13
Sid and Becky Phillips offer their custom-ers a holistic approach to lighting.
relationships with other lighting dis-tributors and manufacturers across the nation.”
BUILDING INDUSTRY RELATIONSHIPS
“Over the years, the networking through NAILD has been invaluable because we get a better industry perspective on what’s going on in different areas of the country,” Becky said. “Understanding what it’s like in other areas and how it
affected their business is crucial to how we continue to conduct business in our targeted area.”
The relationships built through NAILD have also helped Professional Lighting when it has encountered a problem or challenge. “When you have a serious problem, you have the name of someone who has the ability to assist and help your business,” she added. “You become a global or national player even though
you may be a small regional player. NAILD gives you that prestige and cred-ibility because you have access to those types of contacts.”
Professional Lighting continues to look toward the future of the industry as the wave of LED technology continues to shape how manufacturers, distributors and its customers conduct business. The company embraces the shift as it reflects on how far it has evolved in 30 years.
The company provided an industrial LED wallpak installa-tion in Greens-boro, N.C.
The company provided a na-tional brand hotel canopy retrofit to LED for increased light levels and color rendering in Winston Salem, N.C.
Professional Lighting provided a LEED certification remodel for a boutique hotel that now has an energy savings of 70 percent over legacy source in Greensboro, N.C.
14 Today’s Lighting Distributor | SUMMER 2015
Lighting is essential to customers’ shopping experiences, especially as they pick out furniture and imagine fabrics in their homes and offices. Becker Furniture World, a Becker, Minn.-based residential furniture retailer, prides itself on providing a world-class shopping experience for its customers.
The Design Center at each store displays hundreds of fabrics, wood samples and catalogs, so it’s imperative that the lighting complement the design process, not distract from it. It meticulously lights its products in the showrooms and spends a lot of time and effort to maintain the look and feel. The company decided to examine the idea of updating its lighting to LED, if it could find something to match what it already had.
“Our goals were to reduce our carbon footprint, lower our energy costs and support our sustainability efforts without affecting the ‘feel of home’ in our store,” said Phil Knutson, director of operations for Becker Furniture. “And, the net effect far exceeded our expectations by eliminating the need for maintenance person-nel to dedicate three hours a day, three days a week to changing light bulbs.” Knutson estimates that his overall lighting load was reduced by more than 30 percent, saving the company more than $14,000 per month!
“Our flagship location in Becker is one of the largest furniture showrooms in the country,” said Jim Huseby, president of Becker Furniture World. “Each location is designed to help you visualize and decorate your home, not just sell you a sofa.” Being extremely protective of the atmosphere they’ve spent 30 years perfecting, Becker Furniture was willing to evaluate LED lighting as one more way to promote its already impressive sustainability initiatives, while trying to improve upon the “spa-like feel” of the store.
Knutson evaluated LED lighting from more than 18 manufacturers, but couldn’t find the right combination of light levels, color and light distribution. “Customers were noticing our lights, not our
products,” Knutson said. “We needed lighting that highlighted specific pieces of furniture, not the floor, walls and ceiling.”
“LED lighting from Technical Consumer Products (TCP) soon became the standard to compare the others against,” said Tim Kedrowski, lighting designer for Minneapolis-based BLI Lighting. “Our primary goal is to find the exact right solution for each unique environment. We’re open to a variety of technologies from a variety of manufacturers, but we often find LEDs from TCP to be the best solution.”
Knutson, BLI and TCP began the design process for each specific area of the showroom. Kedrowski prepared photometrics and demonstrations of potential lighting layouts for review by customers and store personnel. When the perfect lighting scheme was agreed upon, Kedrowski coordinated lighting upgrades for more than 350,000 square feet of showroom between five locations, and se-cured more than $168,000 in rebates from three different utilities.
With a lifetime rating of 50,000 hours, and almost 80 percent energy savings, 19W TCP LED PAR38 lamps were selected to replace existing 120W halogen lamps, 14W LED PAR30 lamps replaced the 75W incandescent lamps, and 7W LED MR16 lamps were installed in the entrance façade to replace 35W halogen MR16s.
“The retail lighting environment is a demanding application, requiring high CRI and a variety of beam angles and color temperatures,” said Mike Masino, TCP executive vice president of North American sales. “Great LEDs can highlight colors and textures to bring out a product’s true character. TCP helps our retailers maximize their revenue per square foot by emphasizing the unique qualities of their products.”
For more information on this, or our other LED success stories, please contact Jess Coykendall at (612) 210-9160 or [email protected].
CASE STUDY SUMMER 2015
BLI Lighting Casts New Light on Furniture Company with LEDs
www.naild.org 15
Differing from short-term sales sprints like counter days or limited-time-only spiffs, loyalty and frequent-buyer pro-grams are the long-distance runners of lighting distributor sales promotion.
Customer incentives based on incre-mental purchase increases over the previous year typically play out in six-to-12-month time frames. Other frequent-buyer initiatives, such as points-earned-for-prizes and cash rebates based on purchase volume, may roll along indefinitely, if propelled by steady administrative management and promotional steam.
However these programs are structured, research reveals that they work―if well- orchestrated and aggressively marketed. A recent Electrical Construction & Main-tenance magazine study reports nearly 70 percent of electrical contractors acknowledged that distributor incen-tive programs “change” or “sometimes change” their buying behavior.
MOTIVATING BUYING MOTIVES
The rationale behind frequency initia-tives is straightforward. In a market where competing lighting and electrical distributors may have generally achieved parity on service, products and price, a frequent-buyer program can be a customer-motivating differentiator. It can grow market share and sales by giving customers one more good reason to do business with you. By enhancing
the customer experience with tangible rewards, frequent purchase programs become an additional driver of customer loyalty and, if you choose, an attractive lure for new customers.
However, it must also be appreciated that any loyalty program is launched onto a customer playing field crowded with other sales promotions. A frequent-buyer initiative must be well-planned, simple, flawlessly serviced and persis-tently promoted to take root and grow.
Incremental sales promotions and frequency programs have some basic differences. An incremental initiative is essentially a competition among customers rewarding those who most increase sales volume over the baseline of the previous year with big-ticket prizes, such as an all-expenses-paid golf or NASCAR vacation package or a cruise. Two or three runner-up rewards of lesser value- like airline gift certifi-cates-―help spread the kudos and the motivation around. In fact, any custom-er who buys more from you than they did the last year should be rewarded with some token of appreciation.
One important aspect in structuring an incremental program is to segment your customers into groups based on past sales volume. This is an equitable solution that levels the playing field so customers are competing against others their own size, ensuring greater participation.
If incremental incentives are a race to the finish line, a points-and-prizes format has no finish line and everyone wins to the extent that they favor your shop. Expect to invest 1 to 4 percent of participants’ purchases in the rewards points they earn to “buy” outdoor leisure gear or valued services, such as the cre-ation of electrical contractor marketing materials. Structuring those purchase volume percentages in ascending tiers encourages customers to increase pur-chases so they can move up to higher percent-of-purchase levels and gain more rewards points from their buys.
From an investment standpoint, these programs can be built to be self-liqui-dating so that the increased sales more than cover the costs of the rewards. Also, have rewards points roll over to zero annually to prevent exposure to an outsized amount of unredeemed points.
Beyond specific program tweaks such as those above, frequency initiatives share much in common from an implementa-tion standpoint:
Champions needed. Top executive buy-in and a senior sales or marketing (or both) advocate are essential. You need leaders, as well as followers, to power a successful loyalty program. Customer invoices need to be scoured and points tallied. Monthly points statements need to be prepared. Program promotional communications need to be fired off on a regular basis. Without champions,
FREQUENT-BUYER PROGRAMS EQUAL FREQUENT SALES WINNERS
By Jeffrey Barnhart FEATURE SUMMER 2015
continued on page 16
16 Today’s Lighting Distributor | SUMMER 2015
the resource allocation, human capital and ongoing follow-through will be piecemeal, jeopardizing the program. When frequency programs flounder, lack of sufficient internal support is typically the culprit.
Define objectives. Is your frequent-buyer initiative supporting increased sales of single or multiple lines or only higher margin products? Do you target only your best customers and those with upside sales potential or your entire customer base as well as prospects in your trading area? Decide and conquer.
K.I.S.S. Keep it simple. Clearly define the rewards and the customer purchase behaviors that will earn them. A clean, straightforward value proposition cues customers to do what you want them to do and how they will benefit from par-ticipating in your frequency program.
Keep it top of mind. If the program is a points-and-prizes program, award points based on monthly purchases in a formal program account statement. If it’s an incremental sales promotion, show customers monthly their year-to-date purchase totals tallied against the previous year’s YTD totals. Regular reporting drives buying behavior and keeps the program on the contractors’ radar.
Promote by all means. Brand the frequency initiative with a jazzy name and a high-impact logo. Build a program micro-site on your website with reward information and password-protected customer accounts where monthly program statements are posted. Create a bi-monthly newsletter that includes program, product and points redemp-tion information or, in the case of an incremental sales promotion, a leader board in each of the customer purchase volume tiers. This will encourage the guys in the cellar to get off their duffs and spur the frontrunners to charge harder.
Promote some more. Give the program the legs to go the distance. Offer monthly product spiffs that are exclusive to program participants. Point-of-purchase promotions at the counter. Ceiling danglers. Posters. Promote the initiative on their invoices. A simple phone call to each customer once a quarter shows that your company is actively behind the frequency program and supporting their participation in it. You’re in a competi-tion too―for their attention and their wallet share.
Juice the sales team. Customer incentive programs that also offer rewards to your sales people are always more successful
than those that don’t. Offering frequent-buyer incentives to your sales force motivates them to consistently promote program participation. Having the sales team talking up the initiative with cus-tomers over time sustains its visibility and energizes its momentum.
Whether your objective is to grow pur-chases of higher margin products, lock down the loyalty of your best customers or build sales incrementally from one month to the next, a loyalty program can achieve your goal.
Perhaps the best thing about frequent buyer programs is that they offer an ongoing opportunity for your business to stay visible and top of mind with cus-tomers and prospects. A frequent-buyer promotion strengthens channel partner relationships and motivates profitable behavior. What’s more, you’ll have a lot of fun winding it up and watching your bottom line tick.
Jeffrey Barnhart is president and CEO of Creative Marketing
Alliance (www.GoToCMA.com), a full-service marketing
firm recognized nationally as one of the electrical
industry’s premier marketing partners. Contact him at
[email protected] or (609) 297-2222.
Advance University(800) 322 2086
NAILD Universitywww.naild.org or call (716) 875-3670
NAILD Lighting Specialist ProgramFor information, call (716) 875-3670 or e-mail [email protected].
To register, please visit www.naild.org and click on Lighting Specialist.
OSRAM SYLVANIA(978) 750-2464
Universal Lighting e-Learning Centerwww.unvlt.com
The Philips Lighting Technology Center(732) 563-3600
Educational Training Opportunities
continued on page 18
www.naild.org 17
NAILD Announces New Board of Directors
NAILD is pleased to announce its new board of directors that will serve in the following positions until April 2016.
Greg Ehrich, LC (President & Conference Chair) Premier Lighting, Inc.
Becky Phillips (President Elect)Professional Lighting
Robin Watt (Secretary/Treasurer)C.N. Robinson Lighting Supply
Kevin Eagan (Immediate Past President)Northwest Lighting Systems Co.
Bill Cooley (Past Presidents’ Council Chair)Voss Lighting Company
Directors:
Josh BrownKeystone Technologies, LLC
Jim GoodwinWattsaver Lighting Products
Kelly Himes (Business Development Chair)Derick Associates
Spencer MilesPacific Lamp & Supply Company
Cory Schneider (Education Chair)Lighting Unlimited, Inc.
Gene Siepka (Membership Chair)USHIO America, Inc.
Joan Scott TrewScott Lighting Supply Co. Inc.
NAILD Announces New Lighting Specialist Graduates
The third class of NAILD’s Lighting Specialist (LS) II continues to progress through the modules as facilitated by Paul Hafner, LC. NAILD has enrollees from both NAILD and IMARK participat-ing in this opportunity. Congratulations to the most recent NAILD LS II graduates:
• Ellie Kowal – Bulbs.com• Eddie Kolomiyets – Satco Products• Robin Davis – United Electric Supply• Steve Adkins – Womack Electric Supply
Co.
NAILD thanks their respective companies for their continued support of the association’s LS program. The new, self-driven version of NAILD LS II is now available and is fully automated, on-line and on-demand.
The following participants have success-fully completed the NAILD LS I on-line courseware, as well as the hands-on requirements. Graduates have received their NAILD LS I & II certificates and pins. They are invited to use NAILD LS I appellation on their business cards.
• Floyd Fanning - 3E• Steve Jimenez – American Electric
Supply, Inc.• David Gomez – Associated of Los
Angeles• Sean Retting – Blazer Electric Supply
Co.• Ashley Baker – Bulbs.com• Jennifer Gallivan – Bulbs.com• Marissa Lemoine – Bulbs.com• Brittany Rizzitano – Bulbs.com• Neil Gilmore – Clinton Electrical &
Plumbing Supply, Inc.• Matt Bowen – Conserve-A-Watt
Lighting, Inc.• Chris Anthony – Crescent & Sprague
Supply Co.• Julie Wood – Dakota Supply Group• Nathan Cator – Dunn Electric Supply• Brent Henley – Edwards Supply Co.• Mark Owens – Electric Supply, Inc. (Fla.)• Cecil Chavez – FSG• Stacy Gerlach – FSG• Bob Girten – FSG• Wes McIntire – FSG• Ryan Openshaw – FSG• Alicia Renstrom – FSG• Josh Corson – Gordon Electric Supply
Inc.• Ryan Shore – Gordon Electric Supply
Inc.
• Megan Masters – Green Creative• Christopher Certain – Harry Cooper
Supply Co.• Amy English – J.H. Larsen Company –
Corporate• Ileana Domini – Las Vegas Winlectric
Co.• Riley Maroon – LED Supply Co.• Pat Morrissey – Light Bulbs Etc. Inc.• Greg Brannan – Lighting Supply Co.• Christine Burk – Lighting Supply Co.• Rose Rivard – Lighting Supply Co. • Travis Blow – Lighting Unlimited Inc.• John Eggen – Lighting Unlimited Inc. • Anthony Gallegos – Lighting Unlimited
Inc.• Joey Thompson – Lighting Unlimited Inc. • Robert Winterstein – Lighting Unlimited
Inc.• Mike Kleppel – Mars Electric• Arlene Quinton – National Electric
Supply• David Armstrong – Pacific Lamp &
Supply Co. • Adrienne Jones – Pacific Lamp & Supply
Co.• Chad Heater – ShineRetrofits.com• Brittany Hiddle – ShineRetrofits.com• Erin Killeen – ShineRetrofits.com • Libby Shauinger- ShineRetrofits.com• Ian Fuentes – Standard Electric Co.• Sarah Griffin – State Line Lighting, Inc.• Jena Jenkins – State Line Lighting, Inc.• Kristen Sutherland – State Line Light-
ing, Inc.• Kathy Carlson – Thayer Lighting, Inc. • Eric Shrum – Tri State Supply Co., Inc.• Hershell Morgan – Two Wire Electric
Supply Co. • Robert Pettit – Wattsaver Lighting
Products, Inc.
NAILD’s Lighting Specialist courses continue to be well-received by NAILD members and IMARK members, as well as the lighting industry. LS I - “Transition from Legacy Sources to LED” is now open for enrollment at www.naild.org. For more information, contact Linda Daniel at [email protected], (716) 875.3670 or www.naild.org.
ASSOCIATION/MEMBER NEWS SUMMER 2015
18 Today’s Lighting Distributor | SUMMER 2015
NAILD Announces New Members
The following members have joined NAILD:
New Vendor
Jiawei USA /Jiawei Solar
Mark Honeycutt, Chief Executive Officere-mail: [email protected] Schmidt, Commercial Sales Managere-mail: [email protected] Lincoln AvenueHayward, CA 94545(510) 887.8815(510) 887.8825 faxwww.jiaweitech.com
New Associate Distributor
Christopher C. Brown, CEO
Wiedenbach-Brown Co., Inc. e-mail: [email protected] Skyline DriveHawthorne, NY 10532(914) 846.1402www.wblight.com
Online Lighting Distributor Expands Utility Rebate Program
Bulbs.com is expanding its utility rebate program coverage to help commercial customers participate in available incentives for energy-efficient lighting.
Commercial and industrial accounts can save up to 70 percent (savings vary by utilities in each state) on their lighting purchases with qualified utility rebate incentives. “Bulbs.com is committed to providing our customers with the most comprehensive coverage of avail-able utility rebate program incentives across the United States,” says Robert Kernweis, vice president of sales and marketing at Bulbs.com.
In February 2015, Bulbs.com expanded its utility rebate program coverage through new distribution participation
agreements with Duke Energy and Xcel Energy, offering customers instant rebates on approved LED products. Qualified Bulbs.com customers will now be able to participate in utility rebate pro-gram incentives in the following states:
• Colorado• Minnesota• North Carolina• South Carolina• Indiana • Ohio• Kentucky
The new distribution participation agreements will be added to those that already exist for Bulbs.com customers in:
• Illinois• California• New York• Rhode Island• Connecticut• Massachusetts
The Bulbs.com team of certified lighting specialists and dedicated utility program specialists are committed to helping customers participate in available utility rebate programs. The programs are very effective at helping customers reduce the up-front cost that may be associated with making the transition to more energy-efficient lighting. Bulbs.com can assist customers even further with its Buy ‘N’ Try program, where commer-cial customers can try out a few LED lamps risk-free before committing to a larger purchase. “The combination of available Utility Rebate Program incen-tives and our Buy ‘N’ Try program has been one of the most effective customer initiatives that we have implemented at Bulbs.com,” says Mike Connors, CEO.
To learn more about utility rebate incentives, visit bulbs.com/rebates or call a Certified Lighting Specialist at 1.888.455.2800. Lighting specialists can also provide more information about the Bulbs.com Buy ‘N’ Try program.
DuraGuard Offers Pole Tenon Spoke Brackets
DuraGuard recently introduced spoke brackets for area and parking-lot lighting. Our steel brackets slip a 2-3/8” vertical tenon and are available in single, twin 90 and 180 degrees, triple 90 and 120 degrees and quad configurations. These are perfect for use with our Hampton series ST30 and ST35 LED Area Lights, and can also be used with a wide range of our other products.
For more information, visit DuraGuard.com.
New Epicor Eclipse Features More Efficiency, Productivity
Epicor Software Corporation recently announced the general availability of the latest version of Epicor Eclipse, its wholesale distribution enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution for distributors in the electrical, plumbing and HVAC sectors. Eclipse v.9.0 features a refreshed user interface (UI) and technical innova-tions that foster business efficiency and productivity.
ASSOCIATION/MEMBER NEWS SUMMER 2015
www.naild.org 19
NEW PRODUCTS SUMMER 2015
continued on page 20
This version of Epicor Eclipse delivers a new user experience with a completely new main window, menu structures and navigation panels; a new Web widget to view other Web sites in the main window; and new “Metro-style” widgets with configurable widget size, color and notification method. The visually ap-pealing, task-focused and user-friendly graphic interface of Eclipse v.9.0 will help employees accomplish more in their daily work and provide better customer service.
In addition, a number of innovations have been introduced to support increased business efficiency for distributors. These include a new vol-ume rebate tracking system for vendor purchases, an eBulletin Board for critical announcements, an all-new chat-format messaging system, an improved central purchasing process, faster material
returns and new optional integration to Avalara for tax calculation and filing services.
For more information on the new release of Epicor Eclipse, call 1 (800) 776.7438 to speak with an Epicor solutions specialist, or email [email protected].
Fulham Introduces New Products at LightFair International
Fulham, Co. recently introduced a new line of DALI and 0-10V programmable
LED drivers and a new LED driver/emer-gency battery pack combo product at LightFair International.
New ThoroLED Programmable LED Drivers are offered with a unique hand-held programmer that can set different current outputs for the drivers being used in luminaires—right on the production line bench—either stand-alone or con-nected to a computer. The new drivers provide for bill-of-material and stocking simplification, lower cost and stream-lined inventories to OEM lighting fixture manufacturers.
The new HotSpot “All-In-One” LED Driver/Emergency Battery Pack provides an easy-to-install solution for LED lumi-naire manufacturers that need stand-by, battery, back-up in case of power inter-ruption while lowering the total installed cost by simplifying installation and
20 Today’s Lighting Distributor | SUMMER 2015
INDUSTRY UPDATES SUMMER 2015Hatch Lighting Announces Western Region Sales Manager
Hatch Lighting has hired Bob Hojnacke as its Western Region sales manager.
Hojnacke has extensive lighting industry experience in the lamp/ballast and fixture sectors of the business. He will be re-sponsible for growing Hatch sales in the distributor channel in the Western U.S. He is based in the greater Los Angeles area.
Ushio America Continues Energy Conservation Journey with Solar Energy Generation
Ushio America turned the inverters on in April 2014 to utilize solar generated electricity in its U.S. headquarters in Cypress, Calif., and has continued its mission to be both environmentally conscious and more energy-efficient. The solar energy genera-tion system has enabled USHIO to offset approximately 700 pounds of aggregate NOx, 1,800 pounds of SO2 and 500,000 pounds of greenhouse gas (CO2) for the past year.
The solar energy generation system includes one 258 kW DC, 226 kW AC roof-mounted photovoltaic system and 1032 Sharp ND-250QCS modules.
As part of the system, monitoring equipment with real-time Web feeds were installed, with the output displayed on the Christie MicroTiles display in the lobby of USHIO. The display shows what energy is being produced each day and each month and cumulatively for all to see. The information is also expressed in interesting and comparative environmental metrics, such as how many trees would be needed to produce the equivalent amount of CO2 saved, or the equivalent energy production as car mileage.
Since achieving ISO14001 certification in 2007, USHIO’s offices in Cypress, Irvine and Oregon have been constantly improving thier effeciency and reducing thier impact on the environment.
wiring. Fully compatible components ensure complete interoperability and that luminaires will have the highest quality and performance. The product is backed by Fulham’s five-year warranty.
For more information, visit Fulham.com.
Hatch Lighting Expands I-LOC Product Line
Hatch Lighting recently announced an expanded product offering in the I-LOC family of programmable LED Drivers.
• New 100W & 150W drivers for outdoor and high bay applications
• New linear models at 55W & 75W• New 50W drivers, to enhance the
present range of 16W, 32W & 34W
The I-LOC portfolio of LED Drivers from Hatch Lighting use interchangeable keys to adjust the output current, eliminating the need for software or special installa-tion expertise. The technology enables
quick and easy setting of driver output current with the simple click of a key. Select the appropriate I-LOC key for the desired output current and click it into the driver.
Each I-LOC driver replaces hundreds of individual SKU’s, maximizing your return on investment while releasing capital tied to excess inventory. Simply configured by engaging the appropriate key, the I-LOC platform provides a wide range of benefits including:
• Simple driver configuration in the factory or on-site
• No further programming or special equipment is necessary
• 0-10V and phase dimming down to 1 percent and dual dimming
• True 1 percent current dimming over all ranges from 50-100 percent of rated power
• Industry-leading efficiency, Power Factor, THD and Ripple over the entire programming range tested and certified for Type TL
• Instant-On, as quickly as 125ms
For further information on I-LOC and the Hatch Lighting product range, please visit www.hatchlighting.com.
Sylvania Announces Ultra HO PAR LED
Sylvania’s Ultra HO PAR LED lamps deliver extremely high lumens (2400 lumens for PAR38 at 26W and 1600 lumens for PAR30LN at 20W) and outstanding color uniformity and beam quality by utilizing chip-on-board (COB) technology. Delivering high center-beam, candlepower (CBCP) performance, Ultra HO PAR38 and Ultra HO PAR30LN provide great replacement options for high-power halogen and HID lamps. With a smooth heat-sink design, these UL wet-rated PAR38 lamps are available in 12° spot and 40° flood, and the PAR30LN lamps are available in 12° spot. Perfect for professional indoor and outdoor appli-cations, the spot versions of lamps are suited for input voltage of either 120V or universal input voltage (120V or 277V).
For more information, visit www.Sylvania.com.
NEW PRODUCTS SUMMER 2015
Bringing together top lighting distributors and vendor manufacturers, NAILD’s 2015 Annual Conference was held April 26-29 at the Denver Marriott Tech Center.
Karl Mecklenburg, a former Denver Broncos captain and All-Pro, kicked off the confer-ence by providing attendees with his six keys to success and generously donated a signed jersey that was auctioned off during NAILD’s Product Sprint Awards dinner.
Nationally known motivational speaker Duane Cashin was well-received and provided tips and tools to attendees to aid in their sales processes.
Industry speakers Jack Curan of LED Transformations, Inc., Jim Benya of Benya Burnett Consultancy and Mark Lien of Osram Sylvania updated attendees on the future of lighting technologies and the industry overall.
Attendees walked away from the confer-ence with the tools, techniques and tactics that will help them drive their businesses forward.
NAILD’s two evening networking events, Your Bets on NAILD: Denver Casino Kick-Off and the NAILD Block Party, enabled attendees to foster connections with new lighting professionals and re-connect with old friends. The NAILD hospitality suite also enabled attendees to network with their peers at the end of each day in a relaxed environment.
Exhibitors received valuable feedback and traffic regarding their products and made great business connections. NAILD’s famed Organized Casual Conferences (OCCs) were again touted as being one of the best busi-ness networking opportunities at the event. Distributors and manufactures raved about the new business connections they made during this portion of the conference.
The NAILD Product Sprint Awards allowed manufacturers to showcase their innovative technologies and products. Winners were selected by their peers and were judged
based on their products. This year’s winners are:
Best LuminairePhilipsSlimSurface LED Downlight
Best LampOsram SylvaniaULTRA RT6 HO and RT8 LED
Best ControlLutronMaestro 0-10V Dimmer Sensor
Best Ballast/DriverHatchFor the Hatch I-LOC (Interchangeable Level Output Current) Driver
Best Accessory/ServiceFulhamFirehorse HotSpot1 LED Emergency Kits for Troffers
Best OverallSatcoThread Linear LED system
Roundtable discussions on Tuesday enabled distributors to discuss how LEDs and controls have affected their businesses and some of the strategies they have implement-ed, successful sales tactics and strategies, key factors for motivating and retaining employees as well as young leaders in lighting. Attendees gained great insight from each of the topics discussed and look forward to participating in the future.
On Tuesday night, a group of attendees participated in Dine Around Denver to continue networking and build professional relationships among distributors and manufacturers.
For more information on this year’s Annual Conference, visit www.naild.org/conference.
Save the date for NAILD’s 2016 Annual Conference being held April 10-13, 2016 at the La Cantera Hill Resort in San Antonio, Texas. Stay tuned for:
• Outstanding Education• Fantastic Networking Opportunities• OCCs, Product Sprint and more
22 Today’s Lighting Distributor | SUMMER 2015
NAILD NEWS SUMMER 2015
Precision Power. Perfect Light.
®
NAILD Annual Conference Paves the Way Toward a Bright Future in Lighting
